A rights-based policy approach to realising education rights in the context of international migration

The United Nations General Assembly in 2016 declared that ‘access to quality education, including for host communities, gives fundamental protection to children and youth in displacement contexts’ (UNGA New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, 2016). The right to education is a fundamental right guaranteed by a number of international treaties, declarations and global compacts. Education rights are high on the global agenda and identified as the fourth sustainable development goal (SDG), with an emphasis on inclusive and equitable quality education for all (UN Sustainable Development Agenda, 2016). But for refugee and migrant children, at best, this right is side-lined or, at worst, inaccessible and unavailable in the host state. For migrant children arriving in a host state there are a number of barriers to their education rights, and their access to educational provision may depend on whether they are separated from their parents, the immigration status of their parents and how effectively their parents are able to advocate for access to schools and to navigate the host state’s education system. Education rights will also depend on what is available, accessible, adaptable and acceptable as the minimum standard of education for children in the host state (Tomasevski 2006). This chapter will describe the international obligations of a state in the context of a legal right to education for migrant children and demonstrate how a rights-based approach (RBA) ought to shape and inform national educational policy to ensure education rights are respected, protected and fulfilled